Week 1 powerpoint presentation of UMass Journalism's News Literacy class taught by Steve Fox.

1. How do you know if you’re
getting reliable information?
Making sense of the
campaign
LESSONS IN NEWS LIT ERACY

2. Campaign montage – videos

3. Meanwhile . . .

4. Meanwhile . . .

5. What is
News Literacy?
And how can it help us make sense
of the campaign?
Or the world?

6. In the Information Age,
YOU
are in charge
of determining
what is reliable …
and what is not.

7. News Literacy is the ability to
use critical thinking skills to
judge the reliability and
credibility of news reports,
whether they come via print,
television, the internet
or social media.

8. How do we know who’s reliable?
. . . . . .

9. How do we
know what’s
reliable?

10. How do we know what’s reliable?

11. Reliable information is actionable
It allows news consumers to
make a decision, take action or
share responsibly
with others.

12. On Nov. 8,
YOU
have to
decide

13. And there will be many more
important decisions ahead
Cheerleader.wmv

14. You have to decide

15. Watch,listen,readtheNY TimesonFacebook─ everyday.
ListentoNPRontheradio,online,or ontheNPRApp—everyday
How to succeed
in News Literacy

17. Classroom etiquette
Violators will be asked to
leave class
 No texting
 No Instagramming,
Vining, SnapChatting,
Facebooking, Tweeting
or Pin-ing.
 Be on time

18. COURSE OUTCOMES FOR TODAY
You should be able to …
1. Define News Literacy and its
importance.
2. Explain how two information
revolutions shaped history.
3. Put the current social media
revolution in context, comparing it to
the mass-print revolution.

19. How do we know what to believe?
Making sense of the
campaign
LESSONS IN NEWS LIT ERACY

20. What is news
and who decides?

21. Why does the press get it wrong?
And what about objectivity?

22. How do
we know
who is
telling
the
truth?

23. How do
we know
who is
telling
the
truth?

24. Can you trust the fact-checkers?

25. Should there be limits
on freedom of the press?

26. Is social
media
reliable?
“Even tonight, my opponents resorted to political
tricks by tweeting, texting and telling precinct
captains that I had suspended my campaign – in
some cases asking caucus goers to change their

27. Are YOU reliable on social media?

37. “It found truth astir on earth and gave it wings;
but untruth was also abroad, and it was supplied
with a double pair of wings.”

38. The trade-off: Accuracy vs. speed

39. Being there…virtually

43. The Information Revolution 2.0
Between the end of Bush’s first term,
and the beginning of Obama’s first term,
Web 2.0 changed the rules.

44. The Information Revolution 2.0
Social media have become game changers

45. Challenges for consumers
Challenge 1:
Speed vs. accuracy
Challenge 3:
Challenge 4:
Overcoming our own bias
Challenge 2:
Information overload

46. Nothing new under the sun
...this discovery of yours will create
forgetfulness in the learners’
souls, because they will not use
their memories; they will trust to
the external written characters
and not remember of themselves.

47. 1. Speed vs. accuracy

48. 2. Information overload

49. Was the man who captured
Walter Scott’s killing on video a journalist?
Does it matter?
3. Blurring of the lines

51. A crisis of
authenticity
3. Blurring of the lines

52. So many fakes, so little time

53. Is seeing
really
believing?

54. 4. Overcoming our own bias
“Cognitive dissonance?”

55. Are we blinded
by our own bias?
The latest Pew
Research Center
surveys support the
idea that political
ideology is playing a
major role in
consumers’ search for
a trustworthy news
outlet.

56. 4. Overcoming our own bias
Can
YOU
handle
the truth?

57. 1. The latest information revolution has transformed both the
way political campaigns are run and the quest by news
consumers for reliable information about the candidates.
2. From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: Parallels between the first
and latest information revolutions help us understand how
profoundly the digital age has changed the way we get and
share information.
3. To find reliable, actionable information, today’s news
consumers must overcome four challenges: Speed vs.
accuracy, information overload, a blurring of the lines that
has resulted in a crisis of authenticity and, finally, our own

58. Write your name and recitation instructor name at the top
1. Give an example of how new technologies increase the
power of information.
2. Identify one of the four challenges facing news
consumers in the digital age.
3. What comment or question do you have to clarify
today’s lesson or improve our work?
Hand in your Quick Quiz before you leave lecture